Judge Holds 7 Defendants During Initial Hearings

By D.C. Witness Staff - October 2, 2020
Featured | Homicides | Suspects |

On Oct. 2, DC Superior Court Judge Juliet McKenna held seven defendants in DC Jail and released 36 defendants during initial hearings. 

Judge McKenna held Donovan Logan, 23, for failing to register as a sex offender in one case and GPS tampering in another case.

According to court documents, Donovan had an appointment with the DC Sex Offender Registry on Aug. 24 but failed to appear for the meeting. The prosecutor argued Donovan has been non-compliant with his probation requirements and requested a hold. 

A bench warrant  was also issued for Donovan’s arrest on Sept. 22 for failing to appear at a hearing in his probation case. Judge McKenna granted the hold, citing his “blatant non-compliance” with his probation.

Alexander Day, 28, was charged with contempt of court. Day was arrested 24 hours earlier on the same charge and released with a stay away order. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) then picked up Day in the same location ignoring the stay away order. Judge McKenna ruled to hold Day in contempt and granted the prosecutor’s request for a forensic hearing. 

Earvin Harris, 41, was charged with robbery for a crime committed on Oct. 1. Harris allegedly stole the complainant’s bag from his car after several unsuccessful attempts to acquire the victim’s phone number. 

Judge McKenna found probable cause to hold Harris in the DC Jail, citing his noncompliance with pretrial release conditions in two other pending cases. 

Judge McKenna held Chakeena Mack as a fugitive from Maryland, where she is wanted on a homicide charge after Mack decided to waive her extradition hearing.

Mack’s defense attorney argued for her release, saying the victim in this case is still living and Mack has three children to take care of at home. But, Judge McKenna said she was not inclined to release her given the serious nature of the charge. Mack will wait in the DC Jail for Maryland authorities to pick her up. 

William Glaspie, 35, was held on four separate cases involving second-degree theft and an additional charge of unlawful entry onto private property in one of the cases. He is also accused of wrongfully obtaining property from a 7-Eleven in DC.

Given Glaspie’s extensive amount of active charges and noncompliance with pretrial requirements in another pending case, Judge McKenna found probable cause to hold him for his new cases. 

Once released from DC custody, Glaspie will have to report to Virginia authorities to resolve two fugitive charges.  

One defendant, charged with simple assault, violation of a Civil Protection Order (CPO) and contempt in a domestic violence case, was held by Judge McKenna since he was also brought in on a bench warrant for failing to appear at one of his hearings in another domestic violence case that involves the same alleged victim.

Finally, Judge McKenna held Ashaad Turner, who is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. Turner, 18, allegedly brandished a firearm, threatened a victim and discharged a firearm in the direction of the victim on Sept. 23. Given the seriousness of the alleged offense and a pending case that Turner has in Prince George’s county, MD, Judge McKenna decided to hold him pending his next hearing.

Of those released, one of the apprehended suspects did not receive charges from the prosecution, and two defendants were given citations and released to come back to court in March of 2021.

Four defendants charged in domestic violence cases were released. Three of the defendants were given stay-away orders and one was given a no harassing, assaulting, threatening or stalking (HATS) order.

Eight co-defendants are all charged with unlawful entry onto private property for entering a construction zone on the 400 block of Florida Avenue, NE and climbing on a crane at the site. All were released with stay-away orders from the area of the alleged incident.

There were 14 additional misdemeanor cases. All of the defendants were released with various release conditions, including stay-away orders, orders not to possess any firearms and orders to report to the Pretrial Services Agency (PSA) once a week.

Four defendants charged with being fugitives from justice were released by Judge McKenna. They were all ordered to turn themselves in to the demanding jurisdictions by Oct. 5.

Judge McKenna also released three defendants charged with felonies. One of the defendants, charged with unlawful possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, is still in the hospital, so his presence in court was waived. He is reportedly paralyzed from the neck down after being shot in the neck, so Judge McKenna did not find him a danger to society.

Two final defendants were brought in on bench warrants for failing to appear at their hearings. Both were released, and one was given an order to report to his probation officer immediately while the other was given a new court date on March 5, 2021.